Fashion Victim: Our Love-Hate Relationship with Dressing, Shopping, and the Cost of Style

Michelle Lee proves that fashion writing doesn't have to be stuffy or boring. I found her so-called "casual" tone to be refreshing; it felt as if she was speaking directly to me. I loved that she shared her own fashion struggles between love and hate with her readers. Ms. Lee's anecdotes are witty and bring to mind many of my own experiences as a slave to fashion.The reporting was informative and insightful. Occasionally, I had a hard time forcing myself to put the book down because I found some of the stories so interesting. As I read, I found myself outraged at the treatment of sweatshop workers, yet embarrassed that I still bought mass-produced clothing anyway. I lamented the takeover of fast, disposable fashions (Lee calls this "McFashion"); yet I rejoice at the ease of grabbing the latest trends off the rack. These are some of the fashion dilemmas that Ms. Lee shares with us. She confesses that she herself is a fashion victim, with a mixture of pride and shame, but offers some helpful advice to those who wish to kick the habit. This book was a pleasant surprise and an enjoyable read. I'm not a fashion critic, a fashion writer, or a fashionista. I'm just a regular person with three closets full of nothing to wear. If you're anything like me, you'll like this book.

... Rather than just bashing fashion completely, the author makes the point that its power is so strong that even she falls under its spell at times. I like that because I'd much prefer reading a book from the perspective of a recovering Fashion Victim than some person arguing why fashion is completely evil. One or two chapters do get a tiny bit choppy toward the end but they're still filled with very interesting material. I thought the chapter on fur was well done. The writing was superb and it addressed topics that a lot of other writers don't touch on (like, do anti fur activists hurt their cause more than they help?). I also enjoyed the sections on how designers manipulate consumers when it comes to sizing and also the section on the potential dangers of dry cleaning, since I admit I do a lot of it. It's not a perfect book but I still think it deserves 5 stars for bridging the gap between intelligent and entertaining.

Why is this book not getting more attention? I've been reading all this stuff about Devil Wears Prada and all the fashion-related books like Steven Cojocaru's. I started reading both of those books a few days ago and they're pretty disappointing so far. I read about Fashion Victim in the New York Times and finally picked it up. I LOVED it. I wasn't sure what to expect of the book, but it's surprisingly smart and laugh-out-loud funny at certain points...and better written than Prada and Cojocaru. It's not at all like a How To Dress book, which is good because I can't stand those types of books, but it's more of a social sciences look at fashion and dress. A happy surprise! I think you'll like it.

This book truly opened my eyes to the ways fashion touches all of our lives, from the accelerating pace of trends to the dangerous spread of chain stores that the author calls McFashion to the ridiculous physical harm we do to our bodies just to be fashionable. In one example, a doctor quoted in the book talks about how a woman's toe almost had to be amputated because she wore tight high heels too much. Talk about a fashion victim!I seriously never thought about fashion in this way before. An impressive work of reporting, the book is filled with interesting statistics and facts like how 27 percent of women would give up three years to be thinner. Lee's punchy tone is a real treat and makes the reading that much more enjoyable. And she does a good job of including examples that aren't just aimed at people of one particular age, gender or economic range, opening up the audience to include pretty much anyone. I'd give it a strong A minus.

Finally, someone has written a book to explain the wildly ridiculous and addictive phenomenon of fashion. This book takes an insider's look at what attracts consumers to fashion and some of the bad things it does to us. I'm not exactly Carrie Bradshaw wearing Jimmy Choos and miniskirts every day, but after reading this book, I realized that I could be considered a fashion victim, too. The strongest part of the book has to be the author's writing style. It's an easy read but not at all fluffy like how other fashion related books can be. I definitely recommend it.